Date:  Fri, 2 Jan 1998 13:18:01 -0500
From:  Gregory {Greg} Downing <downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Deletia (Was Re: Dilbert for WOTY?)

At 10:05 AM 1/2/98 -0800, you wrote:
>i wondered about "deletia" myself, especially about the presence of the
>"i". i would have expected "deleta" = "things deleted" neuter plural
>participle of "deleo" or "delita" the perf. part. = "things having been
>deleted" .
>
>Allen
>maberry[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]u.washington.edu
>

I figure it's maybe humorous, pendatry-joshing, deliberately fractured
Latin. Others have written me offlist in the last little bit to say they
themselves have seen deletia, and used it. Maybe it's a what one would
prescriptivistically term a deleterious (delet-hilarious?) usage....

Delenda is an old-fashioned editorial term (cp. the better known "addenda").

Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu